


The Engineer's Ensemble

by SummerInAmsterdam



Series: EtNuary [25]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: Clothing, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Creation, Engineers, F/F, Gen, JPG and Riley are totally dating okay-, the author has no idea how to make clothes but I did my best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:33:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28327587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerInAmsterdam/pseuds/SummerInAmsterdam
Summary: An aspiring engineer and fashion designer makes a gown for a grand Masquerade Ball.EtNuary 25: Lauren Riihimaki
Relationships: Jetpack Girl/Riley (Escape The Night)
Series: EtNuary [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589350
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	The Engineer's Ensemble

It was going to be the event of the year, and Lauren was over the moon! The young engineer and her partner, who everyone just called Jetpack Girl, had been hard at work getting tasks done so they’d be able to attend the royal masquerade ball. Their superior who they were working apprenticeships under had given them the next night off so they’d be able to attend the night’s festivities. In return, they’d been hard at work finishing up everything that needed to get done for the week.

Lauren might not have had a date, but that still didn't mean it wouldn't be fun. She was mostly going to spend time with some of her friends. It occurred to her that Liza would probably be returning from one of her adventures that night. She'd just made her a boomerang for her a week ago, and she wanted to hear about how her exploration went.

They’d been spending that particular day fixing up a horseless carriage. When the day was finally over, they both stepped back and took a look at their finished product. The carriage was just as good as new - not a scratch on it, and the engine ran like a dream. Oil stained their clothes and matted their hair, but the two of them had always worn their messes proudly. In Lauren’s opinion, there was no better feeling than creating or fixing something like this with your own two hands.

“I think that wraps it up,” Jetpack Girl declared, dusting her hands off.

“Awesome! So, I’ll see you and Riley there tomorrow night, right?”   


“Of course! I was the one who asked her after all. And there’s no way in hell I’m letting those outfits you made us go to waste.”

Lauren beamed. “I’m so glad you guys like them! I can’t wait to see how you two look!”

If there was one thing she loved more than building things, it was making outfits. When Jetpack Girl commissioned Lauren to design clothes for her and her girlfriend Riley for the ball, there was no way she was going to pass on the opportunity. She’d made a black blazer and some nice dress pants for Jetpack Girl that outlined her figure. For Riley, she made a blue floor length dress with long sleeves that complimented her eyes and hair.

Jetpack Girl grinned at her friend. “So, what about you?

“I, uh… I haven’t really started my outfit yet. I figured I could just work on it the day of.”   


“Really? Are you sure you’re gonna be able to finish it in time?”

“I already have my sketches and fabric prepped. I can whip my dress up before tomorrow night - it won’t be a problem!”

Lauren soon arrived home, washed off the grease and oil, and went into her personal workshop. Her dress form sat in the corner, already adjusted to fit her size with a bit of golden and green fabric draped around it. She went over to her desk to look over her sketches for her gown one more time. If she timed everything right, she’d finish with just enough time for the ball to start.

This would be the first time she’d actually made something for herself. She always put a lot of work into her projects when she was creating for other people, so she wasn’t entirely sure how something of her own would turn out. At the same time, how different could it be? She was still making clothes, and she’d always enjoyed it. Besides, she’d been looking forward to this ball for weeks! She wasn’t about to let cold feet stop her now.

The first thing she did the next morning was get the fabric around the waist ready. She usually started there to have some sort of baseline to work with. It helped her picture what she wanted the shape of the rest of the outfit to look like.

Once the shape was all prepped and ready to go, she decided to start from the collar and work her way down. She took some time picking out a group of gemstones and lining them up around the edges. As for the necklace she wanted to wear, she decided to use a couple of stark reds among the specks of “gold” as a little pop of color.   


After the very top was finished, she focused on the sleeves. The cold months were just starting, but she figured it would be a bit warm in the palace. She wanted the gown to be sleeveless to expose her shoulders, but she figured she could have them on the sides. They stretched out from behind her bedazzled collar, so she had to take extra care not to detach them. She found it was always the smallest details like this that stressed her out the most. They were a huge pain to ensure that they were both the same size - not too long, not too short. She kept having to go back and measure them to make sure they were okay. She couldn’t lose too much of the fabric otherwise there would be no more room for the sleeves at all and  _ aaaaaaaaaa! _

She forced herself to lean back.   


“Okay, girl!” she told herself. “Calm down…”   


Whenever Lauren got this worked up about her projects, she usually needed to get up and stretch her legs. Sometimes whatever she'd been working on looked better when she gave herself a break to look at them from a distance. That would help her clear her head and she could decide what needed fixing.

She took a couple of steps back and… Oh. The sleeves were actually looking alright. Cool.

Lauren sighed as she approached the gown again, wiping the sweat from her brow. Now that that nightmare was over, it was finally time to work her way down the waist. This was more of a cooldown compared to the sleeves since she already had her shape formulated and ready to go. She sewed along the sides of the dresses, flipping the fabric over so the stitches would be on the underside. Once that was done, she tied up some strings on the back that would hold her form steady.

Finally came her favorite part of her dress: the skirt. She was particularly excited while she worked on this part because of how dramatic she was making it. She lined it up with a few layers to make sure it didn’t look too bland, using different colors and materials to make it stand out. She adjusted the form to be a little wider and made sure to leave it all loose enough to give it a nice twirl.

It took some effort to finally get it on (no she didn’t forget about that, what are you talking about?). She walked over to the mirror, and she almost didn’t recognize the person staring back at her! She gave a little twirl to see the skirt flowing around with her. Little bits of the fabric sparkled from the lamp light like tiny stars, and all the yellows and greens she used made her think of the sweet spot in the seasons between summer and fall.

“I… love… this…  _ dress! _ ” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

She wasn’t one to toot her own horn, but she really felt proud of herself! It always made her the happiest when the things she made turned out this well. She felt like a princess in this beautiful thing she made all by herself. She couldn’t wait to show it off once she got to the ball!

**Author's Note:**

> Happy holidays everyone!!
> 
> Okay, let's be real, Lauren's dress was probably the least practical outfit in the show... BUT IT'S MY FAVORITE! HOLY CRAP IT'S SO PRETTY AND OVER THE TOP AND _I LOVE IT!!!_
> 
> I really like the idea of Lauren being a fashion designer. The stuff she's done with YouTuber merch in some of her videos is pretty cool!


End file.
